Day: May 2, 2018

Snake oil began as a traditional Chinese medicine, particularly effective in easing joint pain. Brought to North America by Chinese railroad workers in the 19thcentury, it was made from the fat of the Chinese water snake — a species not found in the West. Seeing the medicine at work, western profiteers began manufacturing much less effective, completely fraudulent or placebo versions of a bottled wonder drug and selling it as a cure-all. Sales depended on just how convincing any oily, traveling promoter could make his marvelous medication sound. This is where Sam Saginaw, the fast-talking salesman in playwright Jayson...

Tennessee Rising is a theatre piece that requires yet easily commands your full attention. The journey is made up of fascinating recounts of the life and times of young Tom Williams, from his first-person point of view, as he interacts with key figures that impacted, inspired and shaped the personal and professional life of the mid-twentieth century playwright that he metamorphoses into during the course of the play, Mr. Tennessee Williams. The stories begin with Williams as a youngster and continue to unfold all the way through Williams’ first great success with his play The Glass Menagerie. This important new...

There’s a whole universe which British theatre has yet to explore properly—it’s called the sci-fi imagination. Although this place is familiar from countless films and television series, it is more or less a stranger to our stages. With notable exceptions such as Alistair McDowall’s X and Philip Ridley’s Karagula, the imaginary worlds of humanoid robots and space travel and parallel universes are rare delights so it’s great to welcome Thomas Eccleshare’s new Royal Court play, Instructions For Correct Assembly, which in its satire at first offers an intriguing mix of Westworld and Stepford Wives. And stars Jane Horrocks. Harry and his wife Max (Horrocks) live...